World Day Against Trafficking: What is it and how can you help?
Today is the United Nations’ World Day Against Trafficking. In 2013, the UN General Assembly created this day to bring awareness to the worldwide struggle against human trafficking. According to the U.N., “every country in the world is affected by human trafficking, whether as a country of origin, transit, or destination for victims.” Thus, they created an international day to promote awareness, mobilize political will, and celebrate the achievements of humanity.
Each year, World Day Against Trafficking has a theme, and this year’s theme is first responders to human trafficking. This includes the people and organizations who identify, support, counsel, and seek justice on behalf of survivors.
The money raised and donated to Dressember is used to support fifteen programmatic partner organizations. One such organization is Anti-Slavery International (ASI). ASI works to end slavery throughout the world, with specific projects in the UK, Europe, Africa, and Asia. They work with local organizations to secure the freedom of those affected by slavery and press for effective implementation of laws against slavery, specifically within supply chains.
One of ASI’s most recent projects is in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China. On their blog, ASI said, “the Chinese government is targeting these native people of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region on the basis of their ethnicity and religion. This persecution includes mass detention – as many as 1.8 million Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz and Hui have been detained in internment camps and prisons constituting the largest mass detention of an ethno-religious community since World War II, forced sterilisation of women, forced labour, forced separation of families, high-tech surveillance; and torture.”
“Every country in the world is affected by human trafficking, whether as a country of origin, transit, or destination for victims.”
To control these ethno-religious minority populations, the Chinese government uses ideological indoctrination and forced labor — primarily in the cotton industry. China produces ⅕ of the world’s total cotton, and the majority of that cotton comes from the Xinjiang Region. The Uyghurs and other Turkic and Muslim-majority people are made to work on both farms and factories, and there has been acknowledgment in the fashion and homewares sectors that everything from t-shirts to cushions and curtains could be traced back to forced labor. Global brands have recognized the grave injustices in the Xinjiang Region, yet they have refused to take action.
The persecution of the Uyghur people is not a new phenomenon. Katherine Hart, Strategic Partnerships Manager at ASI explained to me why this is the moment they are pursuing action. “The forced labour system has been considerably amped up since 2017,” Hart said. “Brand and retailers have long been aware that there is forced labour across the region and that meaningful due diligence is practically impossible. Brands and retailers should have left long ago, but they haven’t. That is why we launched the urgent Call to Action.”
Together with 200 other organizations, ASI is calling for global brands to exit the Xinjiang Region at all points in their supply chain. According to the coalition, it is virtually impossible for global brands to operate in this region in compliance with the UN’s Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. The Chinese government is censoring this population to the extent that outside organizations cannot get a candid statement on working or living conditions there. Without the ability to speak out, we must assume that all products from the region use forced labor.
The “Brand Commitment to Exit the Uyghur Region and Prevent Use of Forced Labour of Uyghur and Other Turkic and Muslim-Majority Peoples” proposes that global brands take action to exit from the Uyghur region within the next 365 days. If major brands begin to pull out of the region, the Chinese government will be forced to take action.
So what can you do?
On this World Day Against Trafficking, you too can join in on the fight to bring justice to the Uyghur and other Turkic and Muslim-majority people in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region. Share this blog post, other Dressember social media content, or content from ASI. You can also join ASI as a member.
Moreover, if you’d like to further this type of work through Dressember, join the Collective to make a year-round impact. The Collective is an opportunity to give monthly to Dressember, taking consistent actions to achieve a better world. When you join the Collective, you will get exclusive updates from the field, live virtual events with special guests, and ethical brand partner offers.
On this World Day Against Trafficking, we would love your support in making the dignity of all people — and especially that of people in ethnic and religious minority groups — a reality.
About the Author
Emma Beavins is from Franklin, Indiana—a mid-sized town in the heart of central Indiana. Emma is an avid reader, caffeinated-beverage consumer, and a firm believer in the pancakes-are-better-than-waffles debate. Emma enjoys running half marathons and spending quality time with friends, preferably over breakfast. Emma is studying English and Spanish at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana where she hopes to be able to use her verbal and written communication skills to advocate for various social justice issues.